


You Sign Those Papers, You Walk Away Forever...

by RichardGraysonPercyJackson



Series: The Acrobat and The Mercenary [51]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Crying, Divorce, Drama, Face Slapping, Slapping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-26 14:07:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19007347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RichardGraysonPercyJackson/pseuds/RichardGraysonPercyJackson
Summary: Bruce hands the divorce papers off to Slade.But it's not as simple as that.





	You Sign Those Papers, You Walk Away Forever...

When Slade heard the knock on his apartment door around one in the afternoon, he was expecting it to be Dick.

He wasn’t expecting-

“Mr. Wayne.”

“Wilson,” Bruce returned. He held a stack of papers in his hands. 

“Those are the divorce forms, I presume,” Slade said. He reached for them, only for Bruce to pull them away.

“We need to talk first,” Bruce said. “May I come in?”

Slade was mildly impressed Bruce had bothered to ask so he stepped aside, closing the door and watching as Bruce placed the papers on the coffee table and turned around.

“What would you like to talk about?” Slade asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He had a feeling he knew what it was, but he decided to let Bruce talk first.

“Dick.”

He was right. “What of him?”

“If you sign those papers,” Bruce said calmly. “You’re walking away forever.”

“I understand,” Slade said calmly. “That’s normally how divorce works.”

“You walk away, you shatter Dick,” Bruce went on.

“Are you trying to guilt trip me?”

“No,” Bruce replied honestly. “I’m telling you the reality of what’s going to happen.”

“And do you have an alternative?” Slade asked, placing his hands on his hips. “Or is it just, ‘sign the papers and leave’?”

“You could sign the papers,” Bruce said calmly. “ _ Or  _ you can accompany me back to Gotham and we can speak with Martian Manhunter.”

“Why?”

“Dick told me about the dreams,” Bruce replied. “Nightmares. Whatever they are to you. I am offering you a chance to find out what could be causing them and a potential chance, if there’s a cause, to get rid of them.”

“You want to let a mind reader dig around in my head,” Slade clarified.

“He won’t look at anything you don’t want him to,” Bruce assured. 

“Just the dreams?”

“Just the dreams.”

Slade was silent for a moment. “I’d have to redeem myself to Dick.”

“I can’t imagine you’ll find that very hard,” Bruce replied. “As loathe as I am to admit it, you care about him.”

“Yes.”

“I believe you’ll find a way.” Bruce bent down to pick up the stack of papers, holding them out to Slade. “It’s up to you.”

 

…………..

**One month later**

 

Dick had finally gotten off his ass and moved out of the manor, into a small one room apartment in Bludhaven.

He didn’t  _ want  _ to be in Bludhaven but it was the cheapest place until he could get a stable job and move back to Gotham.

So he’d been sitting on the couch, barely focused on the TV when he heard the knock.

Sighing quietly, he called “I’m coming!” before getting to his feet. He carded a hand through his hair once or twice before walking over and answering the door.

“Oh,” he said softly when he saw Slade standing there, dressed in his usual dress pants and button down shirt. Dick cleared his throat. “I guess you’re here with the papers?”

“No,” Slade replied. “I’m here to take you out to dinner.”

Dick blinked slowly before scoffing. “Excuse me?”

“It’s nothing fancy,” Slade replied. “But I’d like to take you out to dinner and discuss... _ us  _ before we discuss the papers.”

Dick watched him for a long time. “Do I have to change?” he finally asked, gesturing down to his t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers.

“No,” Slade replied. “That’s fine.”

Dick hesitated for a moment before finally nodding. “Let me grab my keys and phone,” he muttered, closing the door in Slade’s face, if only for a few minutes to breathe.

 

……………

 

Neither of them had said anything.

They’d been sitting at the table for fifteen minutes and all Dick had done was run his finger along the rim of his glass while Slade watched him quietly. 

“So,” the older man finally said, placing his elbows on the table and lacing his fingers together, resting his chin on them. “We need to talk.”

Dick sighed, dragging his gaze up to meet Slade’s. “Slade-”

“I love you,” Slade said, cutting him off. “I don’t want to get a divorce. Mr. Wayne spoke to me a month ago, offering a chance to find what was causing the nightmares.”

Dick was silent for a moment. “Alright.” his tone gave nothing away.

“We found it,” Slade explained calmly. “It’s not going to happen again. I love you, Dick. I don’t want to-”

“What’s the point of this, Slade?” Dick demanded, lifting his head to reveal tear glossy eyes. “To do what? To make me fall in love with you? To break my heart all over again?”

Slade sat up as Dick got to his feet. “Dick-”

“Don’t touch me,” Dick snapped, ripping his arm away from Slade before violently pulling the ring off his finger, tossing it at Slade who barely caught it in time. “We’re  _ done _ !”

Slade stood when tears started dripping down DIck’s face. “Pretty bird-”

“Sign the damn papers, Slade,” Dick whispered, voice choked.

“At least let me drive you home,” Slade requested quietly.

Dick shook his head. “I’ll  _ walk _ ,” he snapped, backing away. “I don’t want to be anywhere near you again.”

“Dick,” Slade tried to soothe, reaching out to gently take the acrobat’s wrist.

“Don’t  _ touch  _ me!” Dick screamed, ripping his arm away and slapping Slade across the face before turning and rushing out of the restaurant.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't worry. this isn't the end of the series.
> 
> Leave a comment!!!!


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